NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Looking to close out the SFA Invitational on a high note, the Nicholls State University volleyball team was unable to keep pace with Cal Poly as the Colonels were defeated, 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-13), Saturday afternoon. 

The Mustangs (4-2) used an impressive .548 hitting percentage in the opening set for the double-digit victory. But Nicholls (1-4) put together a spirited effort in the second, helped by a total of six aces. Cal Poly then cruised in the final set to keep the Colonels winless for the weekend.

Nicholls was nearly doubled up in kills at 51-26 with the Mustangs finishing with a .438 hitting percentage. The Colonels hit at a .182 clip in the second set and ended at .136 for the match.

Autumn Perry paced the Colonels with eight kills and had two of the team's eight aces. Kendall Battistella, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led with 14 assists while adding eight digs and four aces. The junior setter delivered back-to-back aces in the second set that brought the deficit to 11-10 with a 6-0 run. But Nicholls never led in the set and despite an ace by Addison Phares that made it 24-23, Cal Poly went up 2-0 with a kill.

Although the Red and Gray fell by double figures again in the third, a 5-0 spurt gave them an early lead. Perry served up two aces during the stretch before Cal Poly countered with a 7-0 run and never looked back. 

Three Mustangs finished with double figures in kills, led by Tommi Stockham with 12. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi next Friday (Sept. 8) for a pair of matches against Mississippi Valley State (3 p.m.) and Southern Miss (7 p.m.).